


Divisions

by DeadFoxy26



Series: Time Travel and Other Plot Devices [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen, Marauders, The Golden Trio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 06:23:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13496590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadFoxy26/pseuds/DeadFoxy26
Summary: In a universe where Voldemort died for good during his fatal attack on the Potters, four time travelers are about to discover what happens when a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher tries to be creative.





	1. The Beginning (of the End)

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't resist trying to write a story where, without Voldemort, the house divisions become less important and the students begin to find other ways to challenge themselves.

PROLOGUE:

It had been an experiment of sorts by that year’s Defence Professor. He had divided the students of each year into the three groups, regardless of Houses, and had told them to organise themselves into proper units. These three units would battle against each other throughout the year for marks, house points and a mystery prize at the end. The first few months were chaos, with the students finding it difficult to work in their assigned units. The third years in particular had a difficult time of it. It wasn’t until the Legend Division attacked the other two units on Halloween that the rest of the year got their act together, ashamed of being bested by their fellow classmates. The competition began in earnest as students gradually began to fall into suitable slots within their units.   
The Legend Division, the first group of twelve students to begin working together, were led by Susan Bones of Hufflepuff and her second-in-command, Dean Thomas of Gryffindor. Consisting of four girls and eight boys, the Division included five Ravenclaws, three Hufflepuffs, two Gryffindors and two Slytherins.   
The next Division to organise themselves were the Spectrum Division, led by Su Li of Ravenclaw and her second-in-command, Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff. Their Division consisted of four boys and eight girls, made up of four Hufflepuffs, four Slytherins, two Ravenclaws and two Gryffindors.   
The last Division, by far the most volatile but also the most effective, was the Reaper Division. They were led by Gryffindor’s own Golden Boy, Harry Potter, and his enemy-turned-second-in-command, Draco Malfoy of Slytherin. The Reaper Division was evenly made up of six boys and six girls. There was only one Hufflepuff but there were three Slytherins, four Ravenclaws and four Gryffindors.   
Once all Divisions had settled, the battles between them became more intense, sneakier, faster and more impressive. Each Division was just as competitive as the other, and the students trained, strategized and battled constantly between classes, homework and quidditch.

It was then that the Defence Professor and the rest of the teachers realised their mistake. The students grew more advanced in their spell work, more powerful in their magic and more determined in their studies. House boundaries began to collapse as the members of the Division became more important each other. Code names emerged and it became clear that the original small skirmishes, designed to enhance reflexes and defence work, had become an all-out war. Spies and traps, sabotage, reconnaissance, strategies, training regimes, warding and healing, everything became essential to the students as they fought for supremacy. The teachers tolerated this for as long as they could, but the day that the three Divisions abandoned their dorms for more defensible fortifications was the day that the Headmaster attempted to put his foot down. Only then did the teachers discover just how far the children had come in their training.   
House colours were no longer worn. Recruiting of the younger years had begun, and even the older students, immersed in their own studies and fake divisions as they were, had begun to choose sides. They offered advice and information, as well as actual assistance in raids and skirmishes if necessary. Hogwarts was now a battleground. And so it went on. 

At the end of the year, the students passed their exams with flying colours. Quidditch matches had been played and the House Cup had been awarded to Gryffindor, where it was received with little interest. The most significant thing to have happened was the signing of a treaty by the three Division Leaders and their Seconds, outlining the terms of battle for the next year. During the week, students were to sleep in their official House dormitories. These dormitories, the common rooms, the bathrooms, the infirmary, the library, the Great Hall and the classrooms were neutral areas. The corridors, secret passages, grounds and forest were all fair game, however. On weekends, the students would return to their fortified bases and during that time, nobody was safe unless they were in one of the designated neutral areas. No lethal or crippling spells were to be used and First Years were off-limits until they were officially recruited into one of the Divisions, indicated by the wearing of a Division Insignia.   
A silver scythe was chosen for the Reapers, a golden shield for the Legends and a bronze star for Spectrum. Several years passed in this manner, the events of each year doing little to affect the inward battle of the Divisions, which only grew in power and strength. It was this situation that a few time-travelers found themselves thrust into.


	2. First Day Jitters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A crash course in life with the Divisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The start of the proper story. I didn't finish it but I have plans to.

Chapter 1:

‘So, the Headmaster says you lot are exchange students from Thornwood Academy. Never heard of it,’ a sandy-haired young man said with a grin at the four new boys seated at Gryffindor’s table.  
‘Oh, the name’s Finnigan, by the way, Seamus Finnigan, sixth-year Gryffindor and proud founding member of the Legend Division. Welcome to Hogwarts!’  
The four stared at him for a moment before one of them, a tall boy with long, dark hair asked the question they were all thinking.  
‘What in Merlin’s name is the Legend Division?’ Seamus laughed.  
‘Oh, sorry. I guess the headmaster didn’t give you the true story of how Hogwarts is run. Not a surprise, though. The teachers aren’t fond of the Divisions and they mostly try to ignore us outside of class. What are your names, anyway? I’d like to know who I might be working with. Or possibly against, if you join a different Division.’  
Again the four stared at him, but the same dark-haired boy introduced them impatiently, wanting Seamus to continue explaining.  
‘I’m Alphard White. The git with the glasses on my left is Charles Jameson and the bookworm on my right is John Remmington. Paul Peters is the one currently stuffing his face with bacon. Now, what’s this about Divisions?’  
‘Well, the Divisions are three groups within Hogwarts that battle for supremacy throughout the year. Each Division is made up of students from sixth-year and younger, who were all recruited for their specific skills or knowledge. Each Division has a Commander and a Second, as well as ten other Founding Members, each of which is in charge of a specific area of expertise. There are designated neutral areas within the school where the Divisions share a truce, such as dormitories, bathrooms and here. If you step foot outside of those areas, however, you are fair game to opposing Division members. It’s war outside of those doors, gentlemen,’ Seamus explained gravely, no longer smiling as the four boys looked confused and horrified.  
‘What are the different Divisions? How do you join one and what if you don’t wish to?’ John asked, amber eyes worried.  
‘Well, like I said, there are three Divisions. There’s my group, the Legend Division. We all wear these golden shield symbols for identification purposes. The other two are Spectrum and the Reapers. Spectrum members wear a bronze star and Reapers wear a silver scythe. Each Division has their own reputation as well as their own way of doing things. For example, our Commander is known as Demon, she’s the sixth-year Hufflepuff with the long braid. Her Second is my best mate, Dean Thomas, also called Devil. You can identify me as Werewolf when we leave the neutral zones. Our Division is the most cohesive, as well as the most destructive. We like a bit of chaos,’ Seamus offered with a grin.  
‘Trying to recruit some of the exchange students already, Seamus? You know that’s a violation of the treaty,’ a bossy, female voice said. Five heads turned to see a girl with bushy, brown hair standing beside a broad-shouldered boy with a slightly round face and gentle, hazel eyes. Both wore a silver scythe pinned to their robes.  
‘Relax, Hermione. Just explaining the situation, that’s all,’ Seamus said pleasantly. Hermione fixed him with a stern gaze as the boy beside her sighed and rolled his eyes.  
‘Transfer students fall under the same category as first years and must be treated as such. No overtures should be made by any Division until they have had one month within the school to adjust to the situation. It is only fair that they learn as much as possible about each Division before they make a choice,’ she stated matter-of-factly. Her companion and Seamus both nodded before Seamus remembered his manners.  
‘Oh, guys, this is Hermione Granger. Her silent shadow is Neville Longbottom. Both are fellow sixth-year Gryffindors and both are Founding Members of the Reapers,’ he stated cheerfully as the two newcomers sat down. ‘These are Alphard White, Charles Jameson, John Remmington and Paul Peters. They’re from Thornwood Academy.’  
‘Welcome to Hogwarts. I hope Seamus hasn’t scared you away with any horror stories. It’s a really wonderful school,’ Neville greeted warmly. His voice was surprisingly soft for such a large young man.  
‘I didn’t scare them off! I was only making sure that they were aware of the war that takes place daily within these walls. And where is the rest of your group? Laying traps outside of the Hall again?’ asked Seamus suspiciously. Hermione smiled sweetly at him but her eyes were sharp.  
‘Come now, Seamus, you’re so paranoid. Don’t listen to him. He’s biased against us just because he got caught off-guard in an ambush the other day and had to get patched up by his Division’s Healer. As new students, no Division may target you until you have been recruited. They also may not attempt to recruit you until one month has passed since your arrival. If you wish to stay neutral, that is entirely your choice. Several students have done so and they are in no danger from the Divisions. You will be the only sixth-years who are neutral, though, as everyone else in our year has been evenly divided among the Divisions,’ she explained kindly, her brown eyes softening as she turned towards them.  
‘I still don’t understand. Is there some sort of process to become a member? Do specific families or groups of friends join together? And why fight at all? What kind of war are you talking about?’ Charles interjected, looking a little frustrated.  
‘Oh, the choice is yours on which Division to join. Whether they accept you or not is a different story. And there’s no restriction on family and friends. I mean, look at the Creevey brothers. Both are in Gryffindor, but they belong to different Divisions. Colin’s a Reaper, like us, but his younger brother is in Spectrum. It doesn’t bother them much, both are happy with their choices. That’s them over there,’ Hermione gestured towards two mousy-haired boys further down the table who were laughing cheerfully together over their breakfast.  
‘That being said, the Patil twins are both members of Spectrum, even though one’s in Gryffindor and the other’s in Ravenclaw,’ Neville added. ‘It really is up to each person what they want, I guess.’  
Before the four boys could respond, however, there was a huge commotion outside the Hall doors. The doors burst open and spellfire could be seen flying past in a stunning array of colours. Despite the noise and the chaotic lightshow, no spells entered the Hall itself. It appeared there was some sort of ward set up at the entrance, and the spells splashed harmlessly against an invisible barrier. After approximately three minutes, the sounds of conflict died down and the spells stopped. Not long after, a group of people entered, grinning like mad. They all looked a bit ruffled and a couple sported damaged robes and some minor injuries. A second and third group of people entered behind them. These two groups were clearly a pair of ambushed parties, as their injuries and spell-damage were more severe. It didn’t escape the four transfer students’ notice that the first group was wearing silver scythes pinned in various places on their robes.   
‘I knew it!’ exclaimed Seamus, pounding on the table and sending a dirty glare towards Hermione and Neville. Hermione smirked, almost purring, like the cat that had caught the canary. Neville merely shrugged and turned towards the gaggle of younger students that had gathered near him. He pulled out several flasks and distributed them before carefully running his wand over the more serious marks on the children. It should be noted that they were from all four of the houses.   
A similar process was happening at the Hufflepuff table, with two of the girls there performing the same task. One was curvaceous and smiling with long blonde pigtails and the same golden shield that Seamus wore pinned to her ample chest. The other was tall and dark-haired with a gentle deameanour, a bronze star glimmering from the brim of her hat.   
‘Bloody Reapers,’ muttered Seamus, shovelling a spoonful of scrambled eggs onto his plate. ‘Lay traps like Hagrid's acromantula and hide themselves in every shadow they can find.’  
‘Consider this ambush payback for the blitz attack your lot organised on our new recruits last month,’ a drawling voice spoke up, coming from a smirking blonde youth dressed in Slytherin robes, his silver scythe glinting from a chain around his neck. A tall redhead in Gryffindor robes stood behind him, a large grin on his freckled face.   
‘Keep walking, Malfoy, before the sight of your face puts me off my breakfast,’ Seamus replied without much venom, as though this sort of by-play happened often. The four transfers stared as the Malfoy heir merely huffed and strode off to the Slytherin table, seating himself between a dainty girl with a severe blonde braid and a willowy young woman with a mass of ashy curls. Meanwhile, the redhead sat himself down next to Hermione and loaded half of his plate with sausages as well as a small loaf’s worth of toast.  
‘Fortune’s called for a Founder’s meeting, straight after breakfast,’ he informed his two teammates, who were just finishing up their own meal. ‘I’d tell you why, but Finnigan needs to bugger off first.’  
Seamus scowled at him and pointedly added another two rashers of bacon to his plate. Hermione sniffed in derision at the display and stood up, Neville following suit.   
‘Fine, Doctor and I are done anyway. But I do hope he’s had something to eat this morning and hasn’t forgotten again.’  
‘Nah, he’s good. Dobby sent him a plate, stood there until he’d finished it too. Good thing, because I don’t think he’s slept more than two hours in the last two days. Wait up, I’ll come with you.’ The redhead rose from the table, his still overflowing plate balanced in one hand while his other grasped a hold of his wand. The three Reapers ambled away, leaving the four transfer newcomers to turn their attention back to Seamus, who hastily swallowed the pumpkin juice he’d been drinking.  
‘Oh, sorry, that was Ron Weasley. He’s another founding member of the Reapers. So is Malfoy, the Slytherin ponce with the blonde hair. Malfoy’s the second-in-command for the Reapers. Their leader’s the last Gryffindor boy of our year, Harry Potter, the one they called Fortune.’  
He paused then as Charles choked on his own pumpkin juice, Alphard pounding him on the back while Paul’s mouth dropped open, unfortunately revealing his half-chewed breakfast. John cleared his throat and, looking sideways at his friends, he asked, ‘I’m sorry, did you say Harry Potter?’ Seamus nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s right. Potter’s the leader of the Reapers. Pleasant enough bloke, you know? But he’s also the sneakiest bastard in the castle when it comes to the Division War. Heard he and his Reapers have their Founders meetings in a hidden wing of the castle that you can only get to if you can navigate a labyrinth of shifting passages guarded by magical creatures, but that’s only rumours, of course. Nobody but the twelve founding members of the Reapers know for sure, after all, and they sure aren’t sharing.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is as far as I managed to get before Seamus stopped co-operating with me.


	3. Maps and their uses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did Dumbledore honestly think that the Divisions would not discover a band of time travelers in their midst?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive any mistakes, this has not been edited and I wrote it while half asleep, but I hope you enjoy.

Harry Potter stared hard at the map hanging up across the wall. The names were still there, taunting him with their refusal to change or disappear. It didn’t matter what he did to the map, which spells he used or codes he tried, the names remained as they were. They’d been there for three days now. He was distracted from his musings by the arrival of the rest of the Reaper Founders. They wandered into the room in small groups, some still with pieces of their breakfast in hand. He waited in silence as they settled themselves around the table before standing at the head of it.

‘Thank you for coming at such short notice, but I need some input on a strange situation that has cropped up. As you all know, the map behind me shows the locations of everyone in the castle as well as their true identities regardless of potion or spell. It was made by Archive and Brain based off of a smaller, less elaborate version we obtained from the Weasley twins. With that in mind, can I please direct your attention to the group of four names just exiting the Great Hall?’ 

Harry moved aside and let the rest of the group peer at the enlarged map. Most of them looked confused and unsure, but several sets of eyes widened. Hermione Granger gasped, Draco Malfoy swore quietly and Ron Weasley choked on a piece of toast. While he sputtered in the background, Harry proceeded to inform the rest of the Reaper Founders what was so troubling.  
‘James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew are supposedly wandering the castle as we speak. Considering that two of those people are dead and the other two are currently in London, as far as I know anyway, how can they be here at Hogwarts?’

‘The exchange students!’ Neville exclaimed, drawing attention to himself then blushing. ‘They’re supposedly from Thornwood Academy, and are our age. Seamus was trying to sway them towards the Legend Division when Archive and I met up with them at breakfast. You don’t think?’ Hermione nodded in agreement.

‘I studied the time turner that Professor McGonagall handed me in third year, the information came in handy for some of our later skirmishes with the other Divisions, but those only take a person backwards in time and only for a few hours. The person who travelled back would then have to live out the intervening time until the moment they originally went back because there is no officially documented way to send a person forward in time. It’s very dangerous! The damage done to a timeline would instead spawn a multitude of alternate timelines and weaken the integrity of the original one. I’ll have to do some research.’

‘Breathe, Archive. I’m sure the Professors are doing their own investigation into it as well. In the meantime, we need to decide how we will approach the situation. Network, Eagle, I want you two to find out as much information as you can about this new development. We have a month’s grace before official recruitment can start. I need an edge on the other Divisions,’ Harry ordered. Daphne Greengrass and Mandy Brocklehurst nodded, rising to their feet and leaving quickly. Harry turned to the other side of the table, where Ron was chugging water and Meggan Jones was thumping him on the back.

‘Shield, Checkmate, you two will need to figure out defences to be used against whatever the Marauders will come up with if they end up against us. Sword and Jinx have a prank journal that our own Sirius Black sent to me, they’ve been studying it to gain inspiration in organising some of our latest ambushes. Use that to understand what sort of tactics they’ll tend to use.’ Stephen Cornfoot slid a leather-bound book across the table to them while Tracey Davis pouted at its loss.

‘Everyone else, well done so far, we have taken little in the way of damage since the start of the year and have dealt some fairly heavy blows in these first few encounters. Keep up the good work. If you have any concerns or information to be discussed, please make sure to inform Arctic or myself so that it can be dealt with quickly. Meeting dismissed.’ With that, the rest of the group dispersed, some heading towards the exit while others made their way deeper into the chamber, making for doors at the side that led to a potions lab and small library. Draco and Neville remained where they were.

‘You okay, Fortune? Perhaps you should get some rest?’ suggested Neville, directing a concerned stare at the bruising underneath Harry’s eyes. Draco arched a judgemental eyebrow too but kept quiet.

‘I’m alright, Doc, just anxious about this time-travel problem. They’re supposed to be moving into our dorm now that they’ve been ‘sorted’ into Gryffindor. I’m honestly a little unsure about how I’ll react to them, knowing what I know,’ Harry confessed, picking at a loose thread on the sleeve of his robes until Draco got exasperated and spelled it off. 

‘From what little I saw this morning, they’re under some form of glamour charm, so they don’t look like they usually would. I suppose people would get too suspicious if familiar looking teenagers pitched up randomly at Hogwarts with badly thought out cover names. Treat them as if they really were transfer students for now. Be your usual awkwardly-charming self. They’ll probably be falling over themselves to be friendly with you considering they know that you’re related to James Potter. Use that to our advantage for now. Archive, Checkmate and I will discuss strategy once we know a little more about the circumstances of them being here,’ the Slytherin boy ordered, rising from the table and heading for the exit. ‘And Dobby will be reporting to me if you don’t eat and sleep properly this next month. We need you fighting fit, you idiot.’

xx

‘Harry Potter! He must be my son! I have a son!’ James Potter’s head was in a whirl. They knew in theory that they had travelled into the future, but it was another thing entirely to contemplate sharing a dorm room with a son you had never met before. He felt suddenly anxious. Was he a good father? What was this Harry like? Who was his mother? James knew who he hoped the mother was, but what if it wasn’t? He suddenly wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer to these questions. Maybe he should just avoid the dorm room altogether until they could return to their own time? THWAP! As if sensing the turn of his thoughts, Remus whacked him up the back of the head, scowling with his I’m-disappointed-that-someone-so-smart-could-be-so-stupid glare. 

‘Knock it off, Charles,’ the werewolf stressed. ‘We are four ordinary transfer students from a small academy. We know none of these people. We are going to meet the members of our house and we are going to be civil and behave like normal people. And if we end up joining this Harry’s Division, well, it will be because it’s the best choice for us, obviously.’

Sirius barked a laugh and swung his arm around Remus’ shoulder. ‘Johnny’s right, this is going to be hilarious. The best prank we’ve ever pulled. Imagine bragging about it to your kid later? He’s going to think you’re the coolest dad in the world when he finds out the truth.’ Peter nodded in agreement, an excited smile on his face as he observed the interactions of his friends. Remus just pulled away and grumbled about his name being John, not Johnny, and Al better not call him that again or he’s going to wake up bald. James heaved a sigh and smiled himself, feeling a little excitement stir up through the anxiety. This could, indeed, be a lot of fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll include a reference list of the three Divisions and their founding members (including code names) in a separate post.


End file.
